A holiday villa? Or a holiday resort? - What a choice

Thinking of taking a few days in the sun, and can't quite decide whether your
own private holiday villa could be for you. Or whether you think a resort
with plenty of activities could be the order of the day. Well, as
we've recently discovered, you can have both in one holiday!

A villa holiday. A resort holiday - combine the two for the best of both worlds

Having your own villa can be the best way of enjoying sometime in the sun. A private pool to cool down in - without
the fear of the teenagers from next door dive bombing you. The only problem is with a villa, if you want some
of those activities which are readily available with a hotel resort, they might be a little drive away. This is particularly true, if
like us, you have children in tow. It's great to enjoy the peace and quiet of a villa out in the sun scorched landscape, with
nothing but your own pool and a good stash of books to get through - but when you've got children to keep amused, this seclusion
may not by all it's cracked up to be...

It turns out you can have your metaphorical cake, and eat it. Want a villa with your own pool? Want some of the activities and
entertainment you get with a resort? Well, how about a holiday villa on a resort. There are some cracking villas to be had, such as the
"Villa Almond Tree" on Crete, a splendid looking villa - and on a resort with all those facilities and entertainment too.

What is there on a villa resort

All resorts will differ slightly in the kind of thing they can offer you. But as a rule of thumb, a villa resort
will give you:

Bar and restaurant

Shops

Communal pools

Gym

Spa

Wi-Fi access

Children's club

And, of course, you have your villa with a private pool. We opted for the
Hyde Park Lane Villas on Lanzarote for our
next holiday. We have got a couple of children in tow, and want everybody to have a good time - which is why we chose a villa resort. The resort
will allow the oldest child to meet new friends, without having the ultimate embarrassment of having his mum and dad
around all the time; while we can all go swimming in one of the larger shared pools on the resort. And when it's time to have a break and a bit of a read,
we can retreat to the privacy of our villa.

Another benefit we discovered when booking our resort villa is that you get a wider choice of start days. Normally a villa is one of a kind, so you
would have, say, a Saturday start day. You then need to find flights to fit in with your villa. With a villa on a resort, the villa is likely to be
one of a collection of villas available - with different start days. This may well help you get a "keenly priced" flight - I know we managed
to save a few hundred pounds by bringing the start date of our holiday forward a couple of days.

Our top 3 villa resorts

So where are these villa resorts? You'll find a villa resort in many of the popular holiday destinations around the Mediterranean; down to the Canary Islands; across to Egypt - and
even a couple in Florida. I've included our top 3 villa resorts here (when I say our top 3, I mean these are the ones our family want to visit!)

Chateau de Camiole Resort & Spa

A villa in the south of France sounds nice to us - so how about "Chateau de Camiole Resort & Spa". A couple of shared pools, with one
of the pools having a child's section. Should you want to leave the family at the villa - or let the children loose on the kids club - you can get away to the Spa and use the steam room,
Jacuzzi, sauna, or one of the many Spa treatments on offer.

You've got a choice of several villas and apartments at Chateau de Camiole Resort & Spa, we especially like the look of the "Villa Camiole" - as this
villa has its own pool.

St Johns Villas and Spa

A Greek Island is also one of the places we'd like to visit. Sun, culture and beaches - what's not to like. To this end,
the "St Johns Villas and Spa" on Zakynthos is the place to head for. A gym, Jacuzzi and steam room for the adults; children's play area and
games room for the younger holiday goers - and villas each with their own private pool for the whole family.

Hyde Park Lane

I can't complete my list of top 3 villa resorts without including "Hyde Park Lane". This resort on the Canary Island on Lanzarote has a couple of
swimming pools - each with a separate section for children. There is also a children's club to keep the young ones entertained. And, for the adults,
a spa with a sauna, Jacuzzi and selection of treatments available.

And you've got your villa with its own private pool. A little bit of making the most of the resort; and a little bit of cooling down in your own pool. Sounds
the perfect plan.

Want to see more?

The three villa resorts listed above are just a small selection available. You may want to see a much larger selection; if this is the case, it's
well worth having a look at the
villa resorts from James Villas - that's
where we got our holiday from.

If the thought of a villa holiday sounds good - but you've got children in tow, have a look at villa resorts which combine the advantages of having your own villa with the advantages of a resort's facilities.

Find a selection of holiday cottage in Beccles, Suffolk. The cottages of Riverside House, Butterfield House, Northgate Bakery, Honeysuckle Cottage and Burnt Hill House all have a video showing their location in Beccles.

Try a villa holiday in Europe and the Mediterranean during March, April and May. James Villas Spring Holidays is the place to look - and if you get in early enough you could get a bargain in the James Villa Holidays Half Price Sale.

Located next to the beach and surrounded by the Lagoa dos Salgados Lagoon and nature reserve, Vidamar Algarve Resort is a villa resort with holiday villas sleeping between 4 and 8 people. All villas at Vidamar Algarve Resort have their own pool.

A fabulous day out, the Falkirk Wheel links the Union Canal with the Forth and Clyde Canal. You have a variety of attractions at the Falkirk Wheel, including an Archimedes Screw, hire a cycle, paddle boats, or just a nice walk.

See the sights from the top of the Nevis Range in Scotland. Take a gondola up the mountain, and get some views from the Sgurr Finnisg-aig view point. You can always cycle down too - or take the cable car back down again.